OurPet''s Company (fka OPCO)

[MissionIR]

OPCO is opening up the New World of Pet Intellect with its IQ Toys

Back in 2001, Ms. Gay, a frail 85-year-old, was out walking her dog, Blue, in Florida. She slipped and, falling to the ground, couldn’t get up. It wasn’t long before her plight was noticed by a ‘gator. Alligators in Florida typically measure over eight feet and weigh about 800 lbs. The only thing standing between her and certain death was her little Australian Blue Heeler, weighing in at 24 inches and 50 lbs, which took up a position in the line of the advancing predator. Ms. Gay watched the encounter with terrified, unbelieving eyes as the dog dodged, again and again, the giant jaws that snapped shut as the ‘gator attacked and advanced. Blue continued his rearguard action as he retreated until, spying a breach in the enemy’s defense, he sprang in and ripped one of its eyes out. The reptile turned and fled.

Such remarkable valor and loyalty can only come from a well-developed intelligence and emotional capacity. Dogs are very intuitive and appear to be particularly able to sense our emotional state. Some possess an innate ability to detect the onset of an epileptic seizure, hours before symptoms are experienced. With their keen sense of smell, they can ascertain subtle chemical changes in perspiration that signal distress or malfunction. Diabetes alert dogs can assist sufferers of hypoglycemia, which affects mostly people with type 1 diabetes, because they sense when their owner’s blood sugar is dropping rapidly or is dangerously low. But having a mind has a downside, too. Just like us, cats and dogs can become bored. Just like us, they require mental stimulation. When the Roman poet, Juvenal, prayed for a healthy mind in a healthy body (mens sana in corpore sano), his entreaty might have been for our feline and canine friends as well.

OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) has been demonstrating its progressive attitude toward pets by recognizing their mental facets. Its approach has always been based on thoughtful analysis, not only of their physical well-being and safety, but their cognitive expression and emotional equilibrium. For example, it has developed a large (4-inch) IQ Treat Ball® that can be adjusted to suit a dog’s learning grade. The Treat Ball is filled with goodies which can only be obtained if the canine is able to discover the way in. To do so, it must uncover the hatches and apertures on the surface of the ball. It’s motivated to do so by the smell of the treats and their sound as it moves the ball around. Built on the same concept but simpler is the Buster Food Cube. The Buster Food Cube is filled with treats, and a dog must turn it in a way that allows the treats to slip through a small circular hole on one side of the cube. Innovative products like these for dogs, and cats, constitute about 50 percent of OurPet’s Company’s revenues, which were $22.8 million in 2014. 2015 revenues are expected to be reported within the next few weeks.

A press release (http://dtn.fm/Vb98R) announcing the latest market study by the American Pet Products Association (APPA), the 2015–2016 National Pet Owners Survey, estimates that the average amount spent annually on toys for dogs is $47. The survey also reports that there are some 77.8 million pet dogs in the U.S. Putting these two numbers together suggests that the market for dog toys has the potential to reach $3.7 billion if every household with a dog spends the average. A similar computation for feline toys puts the market potential at around $2.4 billion. The APPA study estimated a U.S. pet cat population of 85.8 million and the average annual per cat expenditure at $28.

These are markets that OurPet’s Company is just beginning to scratch. It is marketing its wide variety of premium, innovative, quality toys and accessories specially designed to awaken pets’ natural instincts under the OurPets brand. There’s tremendous room for growth and OurPet’s Company is in gear to increase market share. The company has been growing at an annually compounded rate of over 6%, twice the industry rate. OurPet’s Company’s strategic business plan calls for annual year-over-year sales growth of 15%-20% with targeted net income as a percentage of sales in the 10%-12% range. OurPet’s Company, with its innovative energy, is beginning to look like the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) of the pet toy industry.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ourpets.com